Introduction
While I may wish the numbers were a bit different, I’m not here to condemn anyone’s buying habits. This article aims to showcase what the data says and give a bit more analysis of what others say about buying gym equipment from equipment made in your Country.
As we go through the data, keep in mind that voting is likely 90% in North America, 7% in Europe, and 3% rest of the world and that the poll was done via I.G. stories.
I encourage you to add your comments at the bottom of this post.
The Data
For several years, within the Sunday Surveys, I’ve asked several questions about the level of importance of buying gym equipment made in your Country, if you look at what Country a product was made in before purchasing, and what percent of your home gym equipment was made in your Country.
The first time around, I found this data a bit shocking, but it has been pretty consistent over the past few years, so when it was asked again in January 2023, the data seemed about right to me.
Here’s what we’ve got:
37% typically look to see what Country your equipment was made in before purchasing.
This is on par but slightly lower than what we’ve seen in the past. Only a little over a third are checking what Country a piece of equipment is made in before buying.
69% vote “Neutral” or “Not Important” when asked about the importance of buying gym equipment made in your Country.
28% did say buying gym equipment made in their Country was important to them, but only 4% voted “almost essential.” The 44% “Not Important” votes were greater than those two combined. About 25% voted “neutral.”
For the most part, we have seen the overall level of importance drop over the last few years.
| When buying gym equipment, how important was it made in your Country? | April 2021 | November 2021 | June 2022 | January 2023 |
| Almost Essential | 6% | 7% | 5% | 4% |
| Important | 28% | 36% | 30% | 28% |
| Not Important | 37% | 38% | 45% | 44% |
| Neutral | 29% | 20% | 19% | 25% |
Another look for visual learners.
What proportion of your gym was made in your Country?
About 40% own at least half of their gym equipment from items made in their Country. In general, there is a good mix of made-in-your-country equipment and not.
As expected, the results for this question stayed about the same from June 2022.
| What proportion of your gym was made in your Country? | November 2021 | June 2022 | January 2023 |
| 0-25% | 22% | 28% | 30% |
| 25-50% | 29% | 32% | 31% |
| 50-75% | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 75-100% | 19% | 14% | 14% |
More Importance Given to the Creator vs. Where the Product was Made
For the first time, we also asked about the importance of buying gym equipment from the “original creator.”
While the “not important votes” still outweighed the important/almost essential votes, buying from the “Original Creator” was a bit more critical.
Additional Feedback from the Community
In addition, I reached out to r/home gym to see if they had any thoughts on this data. The themes seem consistent with what people have said in the past, and the additional feedback recently sent to me.
C.R.E.A.M
As so elegantly stated by someone on the Reddit post – C.R.E.A.M. – cash rules everything around me. People make so many purchases because it’s cheap without looking at where it came from.
I make many “quick purchases” from Amazon without additional research. I’ll also go to Lowe’s or Home Depot and buy something like a hammer, lamp, or shovel and have no idea where it came from. Is that right? Maybe. Maybe not. With that being said, why would gym equipment be any different for many people?
Better Options for Some
Some of the import options are better products for certain people than what you’d find with products made in your own Country. An example here would be the REP PR-5000. One can ultimately create an all-in-one rack with the ARES or Athena/Lat Pulldown Attachment. That can’t be done in many countries (like the U.S.A.) unless you’re prepared to pay commercial gym prices.
In addition, while there are absolutely some terrible items you’ll find on Amazon/Walmart websites, most people giving feedback don’t seem to believe that the products imported are just “cheap crap,” as you find scattered through internet comments. There’s no doubt that certain companies are importing high-quality products that will last a lifetime.
Budget Mindset
Many have a budget and are simply buying one product at a time. Thus, sometimes the mindset is “buy this” or “buy nothing.” Or “buy this” and have less for my family.
Therefore, where the product is made doesn’t come into play.
Conclusion
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I have no interest in condemning anyone or persuading their mindset. I’m diving into what goes through people’s heads when purchasing their home gym, which seems no different for most than buying cars, household items, electronics, clothes, etc.
That said, it seems like there is quite a hill to climb if we want to see more people considering “made in your Country” gym equipment. The trend continues to go in the other direction.
Here are a few thoughts about how to turn this trend around.
- Highlight Innovation & Story Behind the Creators: As the data says, there is a higher chance someone will purchase from the original creator than from where it was made.
- I’m not sure prices can be lowered much, but the overall value needs to be emphasized. For example, if you buy a $3,000 power rack that lasts 20 years, that’s only $12.50 a month. Also, is it possible for more interest-free payments? Not that long… but that would also probably help many more people to buy, especially if the product is going to take weeks to ship anyways.
- Promoting your core values over time will attract the right customers. Over the years, I’ve seen quite a bit of “public shaming” on Instagram comments about purchasing from import companies. I don’t think that is the way to go, and it likely pushes people even further away from considering.
Also, I think the best way for all to grow is to continue to preach the benefits of having a home gym. As more people realize this, more home gyms will be created. Thus, there are more opportunities for all.
Anyways… All of that is easier said than done, right? I get it.
Nevertheless, I think the first step is understanding this data and hearing why people purchase the way they do.
We’ll ask these questions again toward the end of 2023 to see if any changes are being made.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
This is good info- prioritizing MiUSA is a tough one for a lot of people. It’s always interesting to me how important it seems that taking care of Americans is when it’s on a political platform but how quickly we tend to resort to the “me first” approach when it comes down to doing our part. That’s not judgment, btw. Just an observation based on the data. I also fall in that category of trying to buy MiUSA where I can but I’m not an extremist like some.
How many of the larger companies are actually “making” the product in their country vs. distributing from that country? I think these companies are either doing a poor job of marketing made exclusively in X country, or are having it mostly fans in another country then slapping some parts onto it and asking it as made in country.
How many of the larger companies are actually “making” the product in their country vs. distributing from that country? I think these companies are either doing a poor job of marketing made exclusively in X country, or are having it mostly fans in another country then slapping some parts onto it and asking it as made in country.
Although I’m a bit late to the topic, it’s intriguing that 70% still have locally-made gym equipment in their gyms, even though it’s not deemed important for decision-making. It would be interesting to explore whether this is due to the quality or pricing of the product or perhaps it hasn’t been replicated by overseas manufacturers yet. Great article as always!